His Honour

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His Honour or Her Honour (American English: His Honor or Her Honor) is an honorific prefix traditionally applied to certain classes of people, in particular justices and judges and mayors. In Australia and the United States, the prefix is also used for magistrates (spelled in the American style, "Honor"). A corruption of the term, "Hizzoner", is sometimes used to irreverently refer to mayors of larger U.S. cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Philadelphia.

In Australia, His Honour or Her Honour is used as a title for the Administrator of the Northern Territory while in office. The Honourable is a courtesy title retained for life for a former administrator.

In England and Wales, it is used as a prefix for circuit judges, e.g. His Honour Judge John Smith. It is sometimes abbreviated in writing as HHJ. [1]

In Hong Kong, which retained much of England's judicial tradition, it is also used as a prefix for district court judges.

In Northern Ireland the prefix is also used for county court judges.

In Canada, His Honour or Her Honour is used as a title for the lieutenant governor of a province while in office. The spouse of a lieutenant governor is also addressed as His or Her Honour only while the lieutenant governor is in office. The Honourable is a courtesy title retained for life for a former lieutenant governor.

Formerly, this style was sometimes used by an enlisted seaman when addressing the captain of a ship, though this practice has not been common since the early Nineteenth Century.

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The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powers, rights, and privileges, including the title and style The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London.

Judge Official who presides over court proceedings

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling in the case based on their interpretation of the law and their own personal judgment. A judge is expected to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court.

Baron Title of nobility in Europe

Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief — their lands and income — directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet.

A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. These styles are used "by courtesy" in the sense that persons referred to by these titles do not themselves hold substantive titles. There are several different kinds of courtesy titles in the British peerage system.

A style of office or form/manner of address, is an official or legally recognized form of address for a person or other entity, and may often be used in conjunction with a personal title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal capacity. Such styles are particularly associated with monarchies, where they may be used by a wife of an office holder or of a prince of the blood, for the duration of their marriage. They are also almost universally used for presidents in republics and in many countries for members of legislative bodies, higher-ranking judges and senior constitutional office holders. Leading religious figures also have styles.

The Right Honourable Honorific prefix

The Right Honourable is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.

Excellency Honorific style

Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the right to that courtesy throughout their lifetime, although in some cases the title is attached to a particular office, and is held only for the duration of that office.

Madam, or madame, is a polite and formal form of address for women, often contracted to ma'am. The term derives from the French madame ; in French, ma dame literally means "my lady". In French, the abbreviation is "Mme" or "Mme" and the plural is mesdames. These terms ultimately derive from the Latin domina, meaning "mistress."

Forms of address used in the United Kingdom are given below.

The honorific prefix "The Most Honourable" is a form of address that is used in several countries. In the United Kingdom, it precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness.

In England, the offices of mayor and lord mayor have long been ceremonial posts, with few or no duties attached to them. In recent years they have doubled as more influential political roles while retaining the ceremonial functions. A mayor's term of office denotes the municipal year.

English honorifics

In the English language, an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person's name, e.g.: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mx,Sir, Dr, Cllr, Lady or Lord, or titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person's name, as in Mr President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor or Earl.

Judiciary of England and Wales

There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are generally given more weight than district judges sitting in county courts and magistrates' courts. On 1 April 2020 there were 3,174 judges in post in England and Wales. Some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary.

The following is the Australian Table of Precedence.

  1. The Queen of Australia: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
  2. The Governor-General of Australia: His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC, DSC, FTSE
  3. Governors of states in order of appointment:
    1. Governor of Victoria Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC
    2. Governor of Western Australia His Excellency the Honourable Kim Beazley AC
    3. Governor of New South Wales Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC, QC
    4. Governor of Tasmania Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC
    5. Governor of South Australia Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC
    6. Governor of Queensland Her Excellency the Honourable Jeannette Young, PSM
  4. The Prime Minister: The Honourable Scott Morrison MP
  5. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in order of election:
    1. President of the Senate Senator the Honourable Slade Brockman
    2. Speaker of the House of Representatives The Honourable Andrew Wallace MP
  6. The Chief Justice of Australia: The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC
  7. Senior diplomatic posts:
    1. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
    2. Chargés d'affaires en pied or en titre in order of date of presentation of the Letters of Credence or Commission
    3. Chargés d'affaires and Acting High Commissioners in order of date of assumption of duties
  8. Members of the Federal Executive Council:
    1. Ministry List
  9. Administrators of Territories in order of appointment:
    1. Administrator of Norfolk Island
    2. Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories
    3. Administrator of the Northern Territory
  10. The Leader of the Opposition: The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP
  11. Former holders of high offices:
    1. Former Governors-General in order of leaving office:
      1. The Hon. Bill Hayden AC (1989–1996)
      2. The Hon. Sir William Deane AC KBE QC (1996–2001)
      3. The Rt. Rev and Hon. Dr Peter Hollingworth AC OBE (2001–2003)
      4. The Hon. Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO (2008–2014)
      5. General the Hon. Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC (2014–2019)
    2. Former Prime Ministers in order of leaving office:
      1. The Hon. Paul Keating (1991–1996)
      2. The Hon. John Howard OM AC SSI (1996–2007)
      3. The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC
      4. The Hon. Julia Gillard AC (2010–2013)
      5. The Hon. Tony Abbott AC (2013–2015)
      6. The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull AC (2015–2018)
    3. Former Chief Justices in order of leaving office:
      1. The Hon. Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE GBM QC (1987–1995)
      2. The Hon. Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS QC (1995–1998)
      3. The Hon. Murray Gleeson AC GBS QC (1998–2008)
      4. The Hon. Robert French AC (2008–2017)
  12. Premiers of states in order of state populations, then the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory:
    1. Premier of New South Wales
    2. Premier of Victoria
    3. Premier of Queensland
    4. Premier of Western Australia
    5. Premier of South Australia
    6. Premier of Tasmania
    7. Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
  13. Justices of the High Court in order of appointment:
    1. The Hon. Stephen Gageler AC
    2. The Hon. Patrick Keane AC
    3. The Hon. Michelle Gordon AC
    4. The Hon. James Edelman
    5. The Hon. Simon Steward
    6. The Hon. Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson
  14. Senior judges:
    1. Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia
    2. President of the Fair Work Commission
  15. Chief Justices of States in order of appointment:
    1. Chief Justice of New South Wales
    2. Chief Justice of South Australia
    3. Chief Justice of Tasmania
    4. Chief Justice of Queensland
    5. Chief Justice of Victoria
    6. Chief Justice of Western Australia
  16. Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in order of appointment:
    1. The Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair
    2. The Rt Hon. Sir William Heseltine
  17. The Chief of the Defence Force
  18. Chief Judges of Federal and Territory Courts in order of appointment
    1. Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory
    2. Chief Justice of the Northern Territory
    3. Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia
  19. Members of Parliament
  20. Judges of the Federal Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia, and Deputy presidents of the Fair Work Commission in order of appointment
  21. Lord Mayors of capital cities in order of city populations:
    1. Lord Mayor of Sydney
    2. Lord Mayor of Melbourne
    3. Lord Mayor of Brisbane
    4. Lord Mayor of Perth
    5. Lord Mayor of Adelaide
    6. Lord Mayor of Hobart
    7. Lord Mayor of Darwin
  22. Heads of religious communities according to the date of assuming office in Australia
  23. Presiding officers of State Legislatures in order of appointment, then Presiding Officer of the Northern Territory legislature:
    1. Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
    2. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
    3. President of the Victorian Legislative Council
    4. Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
    5. President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council
    6. President of the South Australian Legislative Council
    7. Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
    8. President of the New South Wales Legislative Council
    9. President of the Western Australian Legislative Council
    10. Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
    11. Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly
    12. Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
  24. Members of State Executive Councils in order of state populations, and then members of the Northern Territory Executive Council:
    1. Executive Council of New South Wales
    2. Executive Council of Victoria
    3. Executive Council of Queensland
    4. Executive Council of Western Australia
    5. Executive Council of South Australia
    6. Executive Council of Tasmania
    7. Executive Council of the Northern Territory
  25. Leaders of the Opposition of State Legislatures in order of state populations, then in the Northern Territory:
    1. Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales
    2. Leader of the Opposition of Victoria
    3. Leader of the Opposition of Queensland
    4. Leader of the Opposition of Western Australia
    5. Leader of the Opposition of South Australia
    6. Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania
    7. Leader of the Opposition of the Northern Territory
  26. Judges of State and Territory Supreme Courts in order of appointment:
    1. Supreme Court of New South Wales
    2. Supreme Court of Victoria
    3. Supreme Court of Queensland
    4. Supreme Court of Western Australia
    5. Supreme Court of South Australia
    6. Supreme Court of Tasmania
    7. Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
  27. Members of State Legislatures in order of state populations:
    1. New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    2. Victorian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    3. Queensland Legislative Assembly
    4. Western Australian Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council
    5. South Australian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    6. Tasmanian House of Assembly and Legislative Council
    7. Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
  28. The Secretaries of Departments of the Australian Public Service and their peers and the Chiefs of the Air Force, Army, and Navy and Vice Chief of the Defence Force in order of first appointment to this group:
    1. Vice Chief of the Defence Force
    2. Chief of Navy
    3. Chief of Army
    4. Chief of Air Force
  29. Consuls-General, Consuls and Vice-Consuls according to the date on which recognition was granted
  30. Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
  31. Recipients of Decorations or Honours from the Sovereign
  32. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia

Worship is an honorific prefix for mayors, justices of the peace and magistrates in present or former Commonwealth realms. In spoken address, these officials are addressed as Your Worship or referred to as His Worship, Her Worship, or Their Worship. In Australia all states now use Your Honour as the form of address for magistrates.

Mister, usually written in its contracted form Mr. or Mr, is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher, honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier forms of master, as the equivalent female titles Mrs, Miss, and Ms all derived from earlier forms of mistress. Master is sometimes still used as an honorific for boys and young men.

The Most Excellent is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in Spain and certain Spanish-speaking countries. Following Spanish tradition, it is an ex officio style and is used in written documents and very formal occasions.

Joseph Aloysius Sheehy

Sir Joseph Aloysius Sheehy KBE was an Australian jurist and Senior Puisne Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court. He also served as Administrator of the Government of Queensland in 1965 and 1969, and as Queensland's Lieutenant-Governor, Deputy Governor, Acting Governor and Acting Chief Justice on several occasions.

The Queen's Birthday Honours 1899 were announced on 3 June 1899 in celebration of the birthday of Queen Victoria. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India.

The Honourable or The Honorable is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain people, usually with official governmental or diplomatic positions.

References

  1. ↑ "City Law School Working Paper Series Launch with HHJ Nick Hilliard QC". Events. City, University of London . Retrieved 5 November 2019.


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